Help Me Decide

[wdwfan22]

OK, here is my dilema. I can buy airfare to LAX for about $100 less than SNA total for my son and I. We would arrive about 2 hrs earlier at LAX and leave about 2 hrs later. All those parts are great. Money is important to me, but so is time at the parks and convenience getting from airport to hotel.

We could arrive LAX on a Thursday at 8:00am and depart on a Saturday at 6 pm. OR arrive SNA at 10:30am and depart Sat at 5pm with a layover on the way back.

I have pretty much decided on super shuttle. It seems to be the cheapest, with a van instead of a big bus like Disneyland Express, therefore hopfully making fewer stops.

So here is my question, given those times arriving and departing LAX, is it that much longer to get to our hotel (HoJo)? I haven't flown into LAX in a long time, but I know it is a much, much bigger airport. Will I use up the extra hours on arrival and departure getting to and from LAX. Will it just be more relaxing to fly in and out of SNA and pay the $100 more?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

hmmm... I'd say you'd eat up 1/2 of your extra time (1 hour each way.) I dunno, $100 is a lot of $$, but flying in to SNA or LGB is so much nicer than LAX that it would be worth it to me... others will probably tell you to just do LAX--but I really don't like that airport! Have you checked LGB prices yet?? They are always the cheapest for us from PDX.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Have you looked at this thread: Airport Proximity to DLR & Ground Transportation Superthread?

 

[wdwmickey]

Not sure when you're going but I got seats on Southwest for DD & I the first week in August from DIA to SNA for $59 each way We always prefer to fly into SNA it is closer and easier to navigate in & out of (but we rent a car).

 

[wdwfan22]

hmmm... I'd say you'd eat up 1/2 of your extra time (1 hour each way.) I dunno, $100 is a lot of $$, but flying in to SNA or LGB is so much nicer than LAX that it would be worth it to me... others will probably tell you to just do LAX--but I really don't like that airport! Have you checked LGB prices yet?? They are always the cheapest for us from PDX.

Thanks for your answer. Southwest almost always has the lowest fares from Denver, plus they don't charge for baggage. Unfortunently, they do not fly into Long Beach. They do fly into Ontario, and the price is about half way between LAX and SNA, but the shuttle is way more expensive, so it doesn't save any money over SNA.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I am someone who prefers SNA, but for $100 I'd probably just go to LAX.

But just FYI- We have used Super Shuttle at LAX and SNA. At SNA we walked out to an empty waiting area and they had one shuttle waiting for two groups and they took us off to our hotel right away. At LAX, it is much more crowded and we went to the closest shuttle stop and then you just wait for the next Super Shuttle to come by and hand them your slip (more like just waiting for the next bus to come type of thing). It did take a lot longer, but it wasn't a huge deal. It saved us a big chunk of money that trip to fly into LAX instead.

 

[wdwfan22]

Not sure when you're going but I got seats on Southwest for DD & I the first week in August from DIA to SNA for $59 each way We always prefer to fly into SNA it is closer and easier to navigate in & out of (but we rent a car).

I am going Nov 11 - 21. I would love to find that $59 each way, but I have been looking every day, and the lowest I have found is $96 each way, which it is right now. Still a good price for sure. Maybe I will just keep waiting and hoping for that $59, but our return is the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I'm thinking they won't have that good fare then, and maybe just get more expensive as the flights fill up.

 

[zeitzeuge]

We just booked LAX for the first time, when we normally take SNA. We saved $150 on each ticket, so we felt the added drive time of 20 minutes would be OK to justify the cost difference. Sure, SNA is easier to navigate and closer to DLR, but I couldn't justify spending so much more on a ticket to fly into there.

Of course, I'm sure a month prior to our trip, prices for SNA will drop to match LAX. lol